M

machicolation

a gallery projecting on brackets and built on the outside of castle towers and walls,with openings in the floor through which to drop molten lead, boiling oil, and missiles.

Manor house

home of the owner of a fief without license to build a castle with towers and keep.

merlon

part of a battlement, the square "sawtooth" between crenels.

Meurtriere

arrow loop, slit in battlement or wall to permit firing of arrows or for observation.

Moats

ditch sometimes filled with water surrounding the castle.

Modillion

small bracket, sometimes scrolled, sometimes clock-like, set at regular intervals in the soffit of a cornice.

Moineau, Moyeneau

small external bastions situated in the moat and joined to the scarp.

Monks’ dormitory

large room where the monks slept.

Motte

an earthwork mound on which a castle was built .

Mural

painting on the internal walls of a building.